Michigan Humane Society CEO Matthew Pepper

FAQs

• What does the Michigan Humane Society do besides pet adoption?

  According to Matthew Pepper, its work includes cruelty investigations, rescue work, lobbying in Lansing so laws and ordinances represent its values, and education, including training police officers on animal behavior in the field and on the connection between human violence and animal cruelty, a class he teaches personally.

• Does the Michigan Humane Society take pets away from families who can't afford them?

  Not usually, based on Mike Morse’s ride-along: the investigators took no animals and instead brought families free dog houses, straw, food and counseling. An officer told Mike that when dogs had been taken from owners who couldn’t afford them, the owners just got new dogs. Matthew Pepper said the team does enforce laws in serious cruelty and dogfighting cases, and people who knew better should go to jail, but primarily its job is education.

• Is the Michigan Humane Society a 'no-kill' shelter?

  Matthew Pepper said the organization doesn’t use that term because it has found it a little divisive and wants to be a convener and collaborator with other organizations. He said nothing loses its life at its facilities unless it is suffering or dangerous, and that under any definition it would qualify.

• Can dogs seized from dogfighting cases be adopted in Michigan?

  Matthew Pepper said that before January of this year, dogs impounded in dogfighting cases and their first-generation offspring were required to be euthanized. He said the organization changed that law this year with its legislative team and lobbyists, so these dogs can now be evaluated individually for placement, though not every one will find a home; some may be too far gone or dangerous.

• Is it legal to keep a dog outside year-round in Detroit?

  Mike Morse said he learned on his ride-along that Detroit allows dogs to live in the backyard year-round with a small dog house and clean, dry straw. Matthew Pepper said the state of Michigan allows a dog to be outside as long as the owner provides adequate shelter, but philosophically he doesn’t think that’s any place for an animal, noting that water can freeze in winter and dogs need more food to generate heat.